Folkestone and Hythe District Council

EP Sponsor Profile 2019-20

Folkestone and Hythe Distrcit Councill is the regional council for the Shepway area, Kent.

About

Folkestone and Hythe District Council, based in Folkestone, Kent, serves a population of 108,000 and covers a district of 140 square miles. The M20 offers easy access to London and the high speed rail service offers travel times to the capital of under an hour.

The council works to five key objectives:

Boost the local economy and increase job opportunities

More homes

Listening to local people

Support an attractive and vibrant place to live

Deliver value for money

As part of the Council’s objective to boost the local economy, we are looking for an Economic Development summer intern to support with the redevelopment of our economic development website and to carry out business surveys with local businesses. This is an excellent opportunity to understand how economic development of an area works in practice.

Rewards 2019-20

Folkestone and Hythe District Council are offering two 2-week work experience placements focused on HR, where one student will be able to assist with live projects.

In addition, the Council are provide the opportunity for 4 students to attend one of their staff training sessions, focused on soft skills.

Case Study

In 2016, Kent Law School student Elouise Mitchell was rewarded with a 12-week internship in planning with Folkestone and Hythe District Council. Here, she was given ownership of projects, the chance to learn about specific software and the chance to collaborate with a number of teams. Elouise reflected:

Days fly by, and I am always shocked when I see that it is 5pm and almost time to go home. This week, as an example, I am going to Port Lympne Zoo to assist with a planning application, I’ve been out of the office all day today in the Romney Marsh are on site visits, assessing development for the Housing Land Supply, I have been asked to train a Councillor on a new, national Levy that Shepway have adopted and I am organising a set of briefing sessions and presentations on our Local Plan with the Policy department. The days go so quickly, everyone has been really welcoming and I feel as though I am a part of the team.

Within 4-weeks, Elouise impressed so much that she was given the chance to join the Trainee Planner Graduate Scheme, which led to the council funding her to undertake a part-time Masters programme in Planning whilst working as a Planning Officer.